Just in time for Holy Week...highlights of IOC’s Stabat Mater

Allow us to take you back a few years... In the spring of 2017 and 2018, Independent Opera Company performed Stabat Mater, the final work of composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. The work is dedicated to the suffering of the Virgin Mary as she watches her beloved son Jesus being crucified.

Stabat Mater originates as a 13th Century Christian hymn. The title stems from its first line “Stabat Mater dolorosa”, meaning “the sorrowful mother was standing”. It was commissioned by a Neapolitan confraternity during the final weeks of Pergolesi’s life in 1736.

Of the many settings of this hymn, Pergolesi's really stands aside because of its beauty, depth and versatility. Please enjoy our presentation of performance highlights with conversation among the artists involved in making this production possible. Singers, Erica Lazerow and Alexis Wesley share their experience of getting to know Pergolesi’s great work, joined by Galina Barskaya, pianist and Artistic Director of Independent Opera Company. Special thanks to Liza Barskaya for organizing/recording our Zoom meeting and to Aaron Ball for editing the video!